[Militis]

I study an art called Shaolin Kempo Karate. We where karate gis and use japanese terms like dojo. Supposedly Grandmaster Fred Villari went around the world, got a bunch of really good styles, and combined them to make the four ways of fighting: Kicking, striking, felling, and grappling.

We use the 5 Shaolin animals: Snake, Crane, Leopard, Tiger, and Dragon. We have 108 Combonations, a thousand kempo techniques, and practical defence in every way. I know 10 forms right now, and I know that the high ranking black belts know way more forms than I do.

So I know there is a lot of valid stuff in my art, but is naming it Shaolin wrong? We do a lot of stuff from so many different styles. Our master seems to know a LOT.

I was always proud to say, "I do Shaolin Kempo", but after being on this forum for a while, I have come to just say "martial arts". It is like now I am ashamed to say I am apart of "Shaolin" because so many people here have said it is just a money making scheme or something like that.

So we have a completely legit art with seemingly unlimited material, and it has a name that people think is fake?

Someone please explain to me whether or not I can say I am a student of Shaolin Kempo proudly or not. It seems like if I did, I would just get cut down and told that I am not legit.